U.S. moving forward on new commercial imagery order

WASHINGTON Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Monday said it has begun a procurement process that industry executives say could lead to new satellite imagery orders in the first half of 2010.

Sue Meisner, spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department agency, said NGA had issued a statement of requirements to get industry input and guide its own strategic planning process.

She said the communication was classified and gave no details. Industry executives said they expect the government to follow up with a request for proposals later this year once Congress finalizes funding for the program as part of the fiscal 2010 budget.

Analysts say the new imagery orders could amount to several billion dollars in revenues for DigitalGlobe Inc (DGI.N)and its rival GeoEye Inc (GEOY.O) over the next five years.

Jill Smith, president and chief executive of DigitalGlobe, which went public in May, said she expected the agency to issue a request for proposals this year, followed by a contract award in the first half of 2010.

Smith told analysts on an earnings call she was encouraged by NGA's continued congressional support for the government's drive to increase its use of commercial satellite imagery.

She said any government procurement program would be classified, and it was not yet clear whether NGA would seek to fund the launch of new imagery satellites or seek increased imagery capacity.

Another executive, who asked not to be named given the classified nature of the procurement program, said he was encouraged that NGA was moving ahead with its plans, but details were still not clear.

DigitalGlobe on Monday posted second-quarter net income of $8.4 million, or 19 cents a share, down from $11.6 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago, and forecast full-year profit largely below Wall Street expectations.

Earlier on Monday, GeoEye posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by full revenue recognition from its newest satellite. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)